This journal documents my experiences with a Canon 50D, my first DSLR camera, purchased on Oct. 16, 2008. The camera was end-of-lined by Canon in July 2010 and the 60D was announced.

Friday Foto: Cultural Diversity

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Fri 01 Jul 2011 01:09:10 AM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

I was originally going to post two photographs for Canada Day— a traditional one of the Canadian flag fluttering in the breeze and the other one of a maple tree.

Instead, I decided to include this photograph taken at Yonge and Dundas which 1) illustrates Canada's diversity and 2) adds credence to my third rule of photography: it is better to be lucky than to be skillful.

I waited at the intersection and as people began to cross, I held the camera above my head and took a shot (blindly). I repeated this at each of the four corners. This was the best of 2 keepers.

What I found most interesting in all the shots, was the number of people smiling at the camera; I had gotten used to sullen looks on Church Street and belligerence around Union.

Happy Canada Day

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Fri 01 Jul 2011 08:19:15 AM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

I wonder what those tiny pegs attached to the building are for.

Articles I Read Over the Vacation

Fri 01 Jul 2011 11:13:36 AM EDT

Crossing Dundas

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Sat 02 Jul 2011 07:04:39 PM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

Photographed by holding my camera over my head.

The Bank of Nova Scotia

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Tue 05 Jul 2011 04:34:53 PM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

Not entirely sure about the composition.

Friday Foto: GO Train Under a Crescent Moon

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Fri 08 Jul 2011 01:16:35 AM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

This shot turned out pretty well considering that it had to be a clear night, the moon had to be over that spot and I had to be in place before the train passed by and I was balancing the camera over my head on a wire fence topped with barbed wire with a trench in front of it. So I was reaching across the trench and risked having the camera slip out of my gloved hands (it was cold) and fall on the other side.

24mm, Aperture Priority, f/1.4, ISO 800, lens manually focused to infinity.

Photo: Foggy on Front

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Sun 10 Jul 2011 10:45:21 AM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

Two-image panormana.

Passing Fancy No. 25

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Mon 11 Jul 2011 01:17:43 PM EDT

From Passing Fancy

"Roller girl", 24L and grip.

History Pin

Wed 13 Jul 2011 02:30:11 PM EDT

History Pin uses geo-tagging to group similar photographs of a particular spot over time, on top of Google Streetview . I haven't found anything interesting in Toronto so far...

Friday Foto: Late Night Coffee at Timothy's

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Fri 15 Jul 2011 12:09:02 AM EDT

From Late night...

Photographed with the 24mm/L at f/2.8, ISO 320 giving me a shutter speed of 1/30s which was fast enough to hand-hold. I have since stopped using the intermediate ISO values because they are done in firmware.

I focused (and metered) on the sign which put everyone inside, slightly out of focus at f/2.8.

Friday Foto: Tony's Sharpening Service (HDR)

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Fri 22 Jul 2011 11:02:11 AM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

Friday Foto: Seagulls on Front Street

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Fri 29 Jul 2011 08:01:56 AM EDT

From Pfoto 2011

"Going Candid" E-book

book photos techinique

Sat 30 Jul 2011 09:13:06 AM EDT

"Going Candid" is a free, 96 page PDF e-book about street photography, by Thomas Leuthard.

First impressions: photos are used throughout the book to illustrate concepts. It covers equipment, technique, composition, post processing, etc. Loses points for grammatical errors and lack of pagination.

luis fernandes / elf@ee.ryerson.ca July 2011 Canon 50D Journal